Orphan X (Orphan X, #1) in 2-3-4 Challenge

Oct 15, 2022 Jonetta rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery-suspense-thriller, 2022-beat-the-backlist-challenge, group-read, nc-br-digital-library, audiobook, 3500-2022, 2022-audiobook-challenge

the setup…
Evan Smoak is The Nowhere Man, literally. He’s the product of a mysterious elite training program where young orphans are selected to leave their lives, undergo rigorous development for life and emerge as lethal assassins. It purportedly is part of a secret government initiative but Evan later had reason to question its mission. He was known as Orphan X before he decided to leave the program and learned that wasn’t a possibility, forcing him to take extreme measures to disappear and cl the setup…
Evan Smoak is The Nowhere Man, literally. He’s the product of a mysterious elite training program where young orphans are selected to leave their lives, undergo rigorous development for life and emerge as lethal assassins. It purportedly is part of a secret government initiative but Evan later had reason to question its mission. He was known as Orphan X before he decided to leave the program and learned that wasn’t a possibility, forcing him to take extreme measures to disappear and cloak himself in anonymity. Now he takes on projects to help the innocent, leaving it up to these victims to sort of pay it forward by giving out his secret number to only one person. They only know him as The Nowhere Man.

the heart of the story…
I don’t know what I was expecting (I went into the story blind) but this went well beyond anything I’d imagined! Others have compared it to Jason Bourne mixed with some other high octane action characters or series and they’re all correct. The story opens with his first mission, mixed with flashbacks to his trainer who had a profound impact on him, and I got a strong sense of who he was, what drives him and, of course, how utterly formidable he was as an avenger. I couldn’t help but root for him, especially when bad actors from the program come after him. His latest innocent proves a challenge as he vacillates between trusting her and not. I did the same.

the narration…
I’ve enjoyed Scott Brick’s performances before but this was different. It’s like he got under the skin of the character and became him. His voice will forever be Evan in my mind because his interpretation was dead on!

the bottom line…
I’ve not touched on even a small portion of everything going on in this story. It’s non stop action, thrills, intrigue and mystery. It all kept me breathless and edgy as it was impossible to predict what was around the next corner. I loved that in the midst of all this excitement was lots of insight into Evan the man and his humanity. It provides lots of balance and helped me form a connection and bond to him. The ending left me wanting to immediately jump into the next book, on audio of course. This was much, much more than I’d anticipated, and that’s a good thing. 4.5 stars

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Feb 13, 2016 Mary Beth rated it liked it · review of another edition

3.5 stars
I was kind of disappointed in this one but I think
I just had too high expectations and it ruined it for me. I did like it but I didn't love it. It just seemed to drag a bit. ...more

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Jul 09, 2018 Dianne rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Grab the edge of your seat and hang on tight! Gregg Hurwitz’s ORPHAN X is about to go rogue and the humanity they couldn’t train out of him could be the edge he needs to survive.
He had no one, he was an orphan, trained to kill, to become invisible, the perfect back ops pawn the government could deny ever knowing. The only thing he had going for him was his trainer, and his own will to live and the humanity they couldn’t train out of him.

Evan Smoak’s one weakness was his work as The Nowhere Man a ...more

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Oct 15, 2022 Robin rated it really liked it

Shelves: suspense, kindle-unlimited, 2022

At twelve years old, Evan Smoak was removed from his group home and put into an off-the-books government program to train orphans to become elite assassins. After years of following orders, Evan goes off the grid and leaves the program. Now Evan is the "Nowhere Man" who helps those to have nowhere to turn. He only takes one client at a time and doesn't stop until the job is done. His latest case goes awry when someone takes a shot at this client...or was the shot meant for him?

This is a fast-pac ...more

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Feb 18, 2016 Veronica rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: suspense-thriller

3.5 stars

Evan Smoak was handpicked as a young boy to be part of an off-the-record program whose sole purpose is to train the kids to become weapons, i.e. assassins. With a moral compass that doesn't quite match that of the Powers That Be, Evan is eventually beset by events that see him leaving the program and setting up shop as a good guy assassin for hire, think Jack Reacher/Jason Bourne meet The A Team - if you need help, and IF you can find him, maybe you can hire...The Nowhere Man.

It's an en ...more

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Sep 16, 2022 Charlene rated it really liked it

Shelves: adult-themes, suspense, rated-not-reviewed, public-library, series-by-author, cold-war-or-espionage, group-read, crime, spies, follow-this-series

This is the first book I've read by Hurwitz. I had to skim through the ballistics and tech stuff before my ignorant eyes glazed over. However, that said, I did enjoy reading about Evan Smoak. I probably will try the second book in the series before I determine whether I'm going to pursue the series as a whole. ...more

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Dec 31, 2016 Carla rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: thriller-suspense, adult-fiction, netgalley

When Evan was young, a man rescued him from the orphanage. He was living a tough life and was happy to go with him. The man, Jack John, became a surrogate father to Evan, he also became his handler. This was an off the books, black ops training program which took children from difficult life situations and taught them to be employed as assassins. He trained him in every imaginable form of self-defense, weaponry, meditation, hand-to-hand combat and intelligence. Evan became one of the best operat When Evan was young, a man rescued him from the orphanage. He was living a tough life and was happy to go with him. The man, Jack John, became a surrogate father to Evan, he also became his handler. This was an off the books, black ops training program which took children from difficult life situations and taught them to be employed as assassins. He trained him in every imaginable form of self-defense, weaponry, meditation, hand-to-hand combat and intelligence. Evan became one of the best operatives in the Orphan Program. Evan took the last name of Smoak as they never used their real names. As far as the program was concerned, the Orphans were known only by letters—Evan became Orphan X. When the program was disbanded and Jack killed, Evan went into hiding. He grew restless and knew he needed to do something.

Using the skills that Jack had taught him, wanting to honour Jack and help others, he became the Nowhere Man, the last resort for a person in desperate trouble. No one knows who the Nowhere Man is, but they know if they call him, he will help rescue them from a seemingly helpless situation. The only way someone can contact him is if he/she is given his contact information by the previous beneficiary of his services. Once they have passed on the number, there is no contact between them anymore.

It's a lonely existence, but it is the only existence he knows. When he begins to have feelings for Mia, a single mother in his building and her young son, he is not sure what to do. He does not want to get involved, but he is pulled by the innocence and genuineness of both of them. When something goes awry with his latest client and he realizes that the sniper shooting at them in a restaurant is really after him, he is upset that he is put his newest client in danger. What happens next will keep you on the edge of your seat.

I really liked Evan. He was caring and compassionate when he did not want to be, put himself out there to help others, was smart and did not give up. Mia and Peter were the relief in his life and were very likeable. Peter was a curious, funny yet very innocent. Mia had to be strong for Peter, but was just like the rest of us, vulnerable and let it out when she thought no one was around. The suspense was well written and kept you guessing right to the end. There was a little too much killing for my taste, which is why I gave it 4 stars and not 5, but it was an essential part of the plot.
If you like thrillers with a lot of action and killing, you will love this book. Even though I am not a big fan of a lot of violence, I still liked it and am getting ready to read the next one in the Evan Smoak Series. The publisher generously provided me with a copy of this book via Netgalley. ...more

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